Improvement in bolts for prison-doors



lllvrrEp S'rrvrEsY PATENT OEEIcE.

BENJAMIN HAUGH, OF INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA.

IMPROVEMENT IN BoLTs FOR PRISON-DOORS.

Specification forming part of yDetters Patent No. 81,165, dated August 18, 1868.

To all 'whom it may concern: l

'Bel it known that I, BENJAMIN F. HAUGH, of Indianapolis, in the county of Marion and State of Indiana, have invented new and useful Improvements in Iron Prisons and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and

exact description thereof, reference being had to thejaccompanying drawings, making p art of this'speciication. Y

My invention relates to the arrangement Yof the devices for securing the several doors of the prison within a compartment that is inaccessible fromthe interior, but which is convenient of access to the jailjor or turnkey.

Figure l is a ground plan of a prison having but one cell, but showing the arrangement of the several compartments, and alsoV the devices for securing the entrance,lcorri dor, and cell doors, as applicable to a number of cells, whether arranged in #stories or on one -loor. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the entrance or exterior doors.` Fig.'3 is a transverse section through the compartment F, in which `the devices for securin g the front and inner doors of the vestibule, and also the lever by which to actuate the vertical bar that secures the corridor-door, are situated. This ligure is also a transverse section through the dining-hall and the partition separating it from the corridor and cells, showing the corridor= door and the vertical sliding bar a that secures it. Fig. 4 is a section through the vestibule and the front and inner doors thereto, and showing the manner of securing the inner` door.' Fig.5 is a front elevation of the'celldoors, showing the device for securing them when they are arranged in two stories. Fig. 6 is a ground plan of a prison having the cells arranged in' two stories, and showing more fully the arrangement of a larger and morel complete prison,with my improvements applied thereto.

' Similar yletters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several igures. y

The following description will enable skilled artisans to make and use my invention.

A are the walls of the prison. B is the front door; G, the vestibule; D, the inner door; E, the door to compartment F.

The locks that secure the inner door D, the lever g, by which to actuate the device that secures the corridor-door, and also the bolts and locks that secure the door E when shut,

are all situated within the compartment F,

which is made as secure from access from the prison as practicable by making the walls the devices that secure the principal doors out of .reach of the prisoners7 and, at -the same time, in the most convenient and com`-l` mandin g position for the jailor.

The corridor and cell doors are secured by vertical sliding bars a, furnishedwith lugs or catches e, that rececive the projecting ends of'. the strap-hinges d, whicheXtend across the doors, as shown in Fig. 5.

The vertical bars a are coupled by a short toggle-bar, h, to ahorizontal sliding bar, G, that is hung in eyes t' anchored in the under side of the stone flagging M, that forms the loor of the prison, as shown in Figs. 3 and 5.

The vertical bars a are actuated by means of a lever, g, that is situated in compartment F, Figs. l and 3, having'its fulcrum near the loor, and its lower end entering a mortise in bar G, as shown. This lever, when turned toward the dining-hall, draws the bar Gback, giving the toggle-bar h the position shown by lthe'lines, which draws thebar c down, so as to allow the projecting ends of v the hinges d to swing over the catches e. The lever bywhich to actuate the vertical bars that secure the cell-doors is also lettered g, and is inclosedin an iron case in the dining-hall, as shown. The case is furnished with a door to afford access to the lever, and a lock torsecure it from being tampered with by the pris'- oners.

The vertical bars a are shown in the position to secure the-doors; and it ywill be seen that, when in this position, the toggle-bars h stand vertical under them, this being the best position to sustain the weight of bars a, and

to resist efforts on the part of the prisonersto` move them. y

When the cells are arranged in stories, as shown in Fig. 5, the doors of the upper story are hung to open in the opposite direction from those below, and the vertical sliding `bars that secure those above are coupled by a lever, R, to those below, asshown, so that when the lower bars are drawn down the upper ones will be raised up, the lugs or catches e on the upper bars being reversed to accommodate this motion.

The object of this arrangement is both to provide a convenient and cheap mode of actuating the upper bars and to balance the weight of the lower bars by that of the upper ones, by which the horizontal bar G is relieved of the weight, and thus is made easier to operate. p

The cell-doors are also spaced the proper distance apart, and hung in such relation to each other that the projections d of the hinges will engage with the catches e of the bars a of the next adjoining cell-door when open in the same manner as when closed, and thus they may be secured open as well as closed, thereby preventing their being injured by the prisoners swinging on them,or otherwise.

lThe projections of the hinges d extend but half across the bar a, so that, in case it is desired to leave any ofthe cell-doors closed, the adjoining cell-door may be secured open by the same bar that secures the closed door.

This will be readily understood from the open' door drawn in lines in Fig.`5, Sheet 3.

The vertical bars a pass through a hole or mortise cut through the stone flagging forming the floor oi' the prison, and are coupled at their lower ends by the toggle-bars h to the horizontal sliding bar Gr, being thus arranged in order to place the joints and working parts of the device that operates the bars out of reach of the prisoners, and where they are not liable to injury by design or accident.

The inner door .D is furnished with a semicircular grating, T, that projects into the dining-hall, through which to inspect it, for the purpose of observing the movements of the prisoners before entering the hall. This door is secured by a hasp, H, attached to avertical rod, l, th at is hinged to the door near the top and bottom, and is furnished with hooked projections O, that enter holes pierced in the partition J when the hasp H is turned parallel with the partition, as shown in Figs. l and 4.

The hasp H is furnished with a staple near itsouter end, that passes through a slot cut in the partition J, by which the hasp may be secured, by a lock or otherwise, within the compartment F. The hasp extends to the outer edge of partition J, which is flush with the inner edge of the rabbet into which the exterior doors B and E shut, and a block or an gle-bar, o, set a little back from the edge of the door B and riveted thereto, projects inward over the end of the hasp, and aii'ords an additional fastening to it when the door is shut.

The door B extends, say, one inch on the edge of partition J when closed, and the door E of compartment F has atlange riveted on its edge, that forms a rabbet that shuts over the edge of door B, being the means by which the latter is secured.

The door E of compartment F may be secured by a system of bolts, such as are employed for similar purposes, as indicated by the lines lettered c 'v lv e, Fig. 2. These bolts are to be actuated by means of a cranklever rigidly xed in the hinged lever-hasp L, and connected with the vertical bar w, to which the bolts are attached. The bar w may also be furnished with an angular projection, a2, with which the bolt of lock Y may engage, to secure the bolts when thrown out to secure the door E. The short end of hasp L enters a catch, L', on the door-frame, and the Ilong end is secured on a staple in door B by a padlock or otherwise, as may be most convenient.

The partition J has an angle-iron bar riveted on its outer edge, on the chamber F side, that serves both to strengthen it and to serve as a catch to the ends of the bolts 'v c when thrown out to secure door E.

The horizontal bar G, underthe door of the prison, may be jointed, as shown in Fig. 3, so that it may turn oft' at any required angle to accommodate it to the position of the corridordoors.

One of the notable .features of my invention consists in the arrangement of compartment Fin a position to be inaccessible from the interior of the prison, for the purpose of placing therein the lever g, which affords' the only means of operating the fastening that secures the corridor-door, and also the fastenings that secure the doors D, B, and E, y

so as to be out of reach of the prisoners, and at the same time convenient of access by the jailor.

I am aware that devices are in use for avoiding contact with the prisoners, and I make no claim to this feature in prisons, in itself cong BENJAMIN r. HAUGH.

Witnesses:

O. F. MAYnEw, J. B. HALL. 

